Reprints Ultimate Fantastic Four #42-46 (July 2007-November 2007). The Fantastic Four has been isolated due to potential infection due to their journey into the past. When Reed tries to reach into space to tap into the energy of a star to power his cosmic cube, he brings something else to Earth. The Silver Surfer is coming to Earth and he’s leading his master who intends to become the ruler of Earth. With peace overtaking Earth, the Fantastic Four must question if it is a piece they can live with.

Written by Mike Carey and illustrated by Pasqual Ferry, Ultimate Fantastic Four 9: Silver Surfer is a follow-up to Ultimate Fantastic Four 8: Devils. The series continued to underperform when compared to other titles in the Ultimate line.

The Silver Surfer is a monumental story in the Fantastic Four mythology. The arrival of the Surfer, the coming of Galactus, and the battle for Earth is often listed as not only one of the best storylines in the Fantastic Four but in Marvel Comics as well. Here, it seems like a wasted afterthought.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #46

Part of the Ultimate Universe was a means to streamline Marvel Comics and introduce old ideas to new readers…it doesn’t necessarily mean that the “old” must be thrown out to simply shake things up. The tying of Silver Surfer to the Psycho-Man was rather pointless. It felt like Marvel simply wanted to save Galactus for the trilogy of series Ultimate Nightmare, Ultimate Secret, Ultimate Extinction…which also fell flat as a result.

The other half of the story is the perfect world syndrome. The idea of characters being trapped in a utopia and having to choose to leave that utopia has been done to death. The Psycho-Man has always been a rather lame, throwaway character and this story doesn’t help distinguish him or elevate him. If Carey wanted to do this story, he should have spread it out a few more issues or worked the Silver Surfer into a flashback storyline within the utopia storyline as it unravels…it just doesn’t work.

Ultimate Fantastic Four 9: Silver Surfer is a good example of why this series never really worked. Unlike The Ultimates, Ultimate X-Men, and Ultimate Spider-Man which were more dynamic, Ultimate Fantastic Four felt like more of the same and possibly flatter than the real Fantastic Four. Ultimate Fantastic Four 9: Silver Surfer is followed by Ultimate Fantastic Four 10: Ghosts.

Follow me on Twitter @JPRoscoe76! Loves all things pop-culture especially if it has a bit of a counter-culture twist. Plays video games (basically from the start when a neighbor brought home an Atari 2600), comic loving (for almost 30 years), and a true critic of movies. Enjoys the art house but also isn't afraid to let in one or two popular movies at the same time.